17 posts · 7,624 views
I am a linguist who has worked in academia, government consulting, NLP, and the branding and marketing industry. I used to be a graduate student in linguistics specializing in the syntax-semantics interface and verb classes.
The Lousy Linguist
17 posts
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- July 8, 2011
- 07:33 AM
- 426 views
"the definition of “metaphoricity” is problematic in itself"
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
One of the metaphor recognition papers I read this week had an interesting finding wrt inter-annotator agreement and metaphor: The Automatic Identification of Conceptual Metaphors in Hungarian Texts: A Corpus-based Analysis (Babarczy et a., LREC 2010 Workshop). The purpose of the paper was to run a sort-of bake-off between three methods of creating source/target word lists (to be used by selection preference metaphor recognition system): Three different methods of compiling the word lists w........ Read more »
Anna Babarczy, Ildikó Bencze M., István Fekete, & Eszter Simon. (2010) The Automatic Identification of Conceptual Metaphors in Hungarian Texts: A Corpus-Based Analysis. LREC 2010 Workshop. Proceedings. info:/
- July 7, 2011
- 07:33 AM
- 468 views
more on auto metaphor recognition methods
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
A quick follow-up to my previous post on automatic metaphor recognition. The paper Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns by Tang et al. challenges the dominant selectional preferences method by substituing their own Semantic Relations Patterns. They point out the problems with Selection Preferences (unfortunately I don't think they solved the problems with their own method, more on that in a bit).Again I'll give the Ling 101, computational linguistics for dummie........ Read more »
Xuri Tang, Weiguang Qu, Xiaohe Chen, & Shiwen Yu. (2010) Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns. International Conference on Asian Language Processing. info:/
- July 5, 2011
- 09:49 AM
- 450 views
the big picture: automatic metaphor identification
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
The recently popularized IARPA Metaphor Program piqued my curiosity, so I've been reviewing a variety of articles on contemporary approaches to automatic metaphor identification. I've read three articles so far and one thing is somewhat dissapointing: they all severely restrict the notion of metaphor to mean local metaphors within single sentences.They all pay considerable lip service to Lakoff & Johnson's seminal 1980 work Metaphors We Live By, taking as gospel the notion that metaphor is d........ Read more »
Xuri Tang, Weiguang Qu, Xiaohe Chen, & Shiwen Yu. (2010) Automatic Metaphor Recognition Based on Semantic Relation Patterns. International Conference on Asian Language Processing. info:/
- June 29, 2011
- 04:18 PM
- 680 views
Through the Language Glass (Part 2) [reposted]
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
This is part 2 of my review of Guy Deutscher's new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. This covers The Language Lens (129-249). Part 1 is here. This review will cover the scientific evidence that Deutscher reviews suggesting that language affects thought, and will end with a shocking proposal.To sum up my review of part one: meh. Okay, we've established that culture can influence language. This is a lot less controversial than Deutscher makes it see........ Read more »
Guy deutscher. (2010) Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. Metropolitan Books. info:/
- January 27, 2011
- 07:33 AM
- 388 views
the linguistics of heaven and hell
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
The value of pop culture data for legitimate research is being put to the test. Exactly what, if anything, can the reality show Big Brother tell us about language change over time?Voice Onset Time is a measure of how long you wait to begin vibrating your vocal folds after you release a stop consonant. Voiced stop consonants like /b/ and /d/ require two things: 1) stop all airflow from escaping the airway by closing the glottis and 2) after the air is released, begin vibrating the glottis (by usi........ Read more »
Max Ban, Peter Graf, & Morgan Sonderegge. (2011) Longitudinal phonetic variation in a closed system. Linguistic Society of America. info:/
- November 23, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 344 views
purple pain and a gene called 'straightjacket'
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
Dr. Kevin Mitchell, a neuroscientist at Smurfit Institute of Genetics, University of Dublin, posted at his excellent blog Wiring the Brain about a weird, interesting study* that points to a possible genetic explanation of synaesthesia** (e.g., hearing a word and experience the color red). The authors were studying pain mechanisms in fruit flies (turns out the mechanisms are similar to us mammals, whuddathunk?). Once they identified a particular gene they dubbed straightjacket*** which is "involv........ Read more »
Neely GG, Hess A, Costigan M, Keene AC, Goulas S, Langeslag M, Griffin RS, Belfer I, Dai F, Smith SB.... (2010) A Genome-wide Drosophila Screen for Heat Nociception Identifies α2δ3 as an Evolutionarily Conserved Pain Gene. Cell, 143(4), 628-38. PMID: 21074052
- October 1, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 427 views
do boys need more language help than girls?
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
No.But that's the conclusion of the anonymous journalist/stenographer from the Science Daily who wrote the recent story Building Language Skills More Critical for Boys Than Girls, Research Suggests. The author states Developing language skills appears to be more important for boys than girls in helping them to develop self-control and, ultimately, succeed in school.Unfortunately I cannot find the original article (citation below) freely available, so all I have to go on is the brief description ........ Read more »
Vallotton, C., & Ayoub, C. (2010) Use your words: The role of language in the development of toddlers’ self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.09.002
- September 27, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 431 views
can language affect blood flow?
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
Do languages affect blood flow in the brain differently? Apparently, yes! In a recent fMRI study, researchers showed that Cantonese verbs and nouns are processed in (slightly) different parts of the brain than English nouns and verbs in bilinguals. The researchers used a lexical decision task to contrast the processing of English and Cantonese verbs and nouns in the brains of bilingual speakers.Chinese nouns and verbs showed a largely overlapping pattern of cortical activity. In contrast, Englis........ Read more »
Chan, A., Luke, K., Li, P., Yip, V., Li, G., Weekes, B., & Tan, L. (2008) Neural Correlates of Nouns and Verbs in Early Bilinguals. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1145(1), 30-40. DOI: 10.1196/annals.1416.000
- September 22, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 410 views
Through the Language Glass (Part 2)
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
This is part 2 of my review of Guy Deutscher's new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. This covers The Language Lens (129-249). Part 1 is here. This review will cover the scientific evidence that Deutscher reviews suggesting that language affects thought, and will end with a shocking proposal.To sum up my review of part one: meh. Okay, we've established that culture can influence language. This is a lot less controversial than Deutscher makes it see........ Read more »
Guy deutscher. (2010) Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. Metropolitan Books. info:/
- September 13, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 464 views
Through the Language Glass (Part 1)
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
The publisher Henry Holt and Company was kind enough to send me a review copy of Guy Deutscher's new book Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages which bills itself as "demonstrating that language does in fact reflect culture in ways that are anything but trivial" but which also goes beyond that and purports to demonstrate that language affects thought, if only via habits of mind.This is part one of a two part review. I expect to post Part 2 next Monday, Sept........ Read more »
Guy Deutscher. (2010) Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages. Metropolitan Books. info:/
- September 4, 2010
- 08:33 AM
- 476 views
the original Whorf
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
Guy Deutcher's NYT's article on how language affects thought continues to get buzz, as surely his book Through The Language Glass will when people read it (it was just released 3 days ago and is currently #234 on Amazon's book rank). One common reaction amongst bloggers is that Deutscher gives Whorf himself unfairly harsh treatment, and ultimately mis-represents Whorf's own opinions.For example, Kathryn Woolard, SLA President, says "Whorf’s own statements of his theory look little like the car........ Read more »
Benjamin Lee Whorf. (1940) Science and Linguistics. MIT Technology Review, 42(6). info:other/
- September 1, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 379 views
the largest whorfian study EVER! (and why it matters)
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
Let me take the ball Mark Liberman threw on Monday and run with it a bit. Liberman posted a thorough discussion of Fausey and Broditsky's neo-Whorfian English and Spanish speakers remember causal agents differently. Specifically, he invited readers to carefully examine the methodology of the experiments themselves, and not just focus on the conclusions. It turns out that a few years ago another set of neo-Whorfians, Jürgen Bohnemeyer and company, published a paper that addressed similar me........ Read more »
Jürgen Bohnemeyer, Sonja Eisenbeiss, & Bhuvana Narasimhan. (2006) Ways to go: Methodological considerations in Whorfian studies on motion events. ESSEX RESEARCH REPORTS IN LINGUISTICS, 1-19. info:other/
- August 11, 2010
- 07:33 AM
- 350 views
ant synonyms and linguistics envy
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
A cute analogy: Similar molecules which differ slightly in chain length cause similar behavioral reactions in ants. Therefore, similar chemicals are like lexical synonyms in human language. This is a rough paraphrase of the brief post Chemical Ant Language Has Synonyms.But is the analogy valid?The blog was referring to a study that investigated what appeared to be a pretty straight forward stimulus-response reaction. Ants were exposed to a variety of chemicals which differed minimally ........ Read more »
Wilgenburg, E., Sulc, R., Shea, K., & Tsutsui, N. (2010) Deciphering the Chemical Basis of Nestmate Recognition. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 36(7), 751-758. DOI: 10.1007/s10886-010-9812-4
- July 22, 2010
- 08:33 AM
- 426 views
the psychological reality of truthiness?
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
New research out of U. Chicago looked at the effect of foreign accents on trust. The brief Flash Report Why don't we believe non-native speakers? (PDF; full citation below) found that "People judged trivia statements such as “Ants don't sleep” as less true when spoken by a non-native than a native speaker." There's a cline of truthiness because the researchers did the following: "Participants listened to each statement and indicated its veracity on a 14 cm line, with one pole label........ Read more »
Lev-Ari, S., & Keysar, B. (2010) Why don't we believe non-native speakers? The influence of accent on credibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2010.05.025
- June 10, 2010
- 08:33 AM
- 535 views
Is Arabic The Least Positive Language? (hint, no) ... sigh
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
Sometimes bad science reporting is a function of bad science. Garbage in, garbage out.There's been some buzz about new research regarding the bias of negative and positive words in English as well as cross linguistically. I have refrained from commenting because it sounded like typical bad reporting and misunderstanding of academic research. Then Andrew Sullivan got involved. Sigh. Sullivan has his strengths and weaknesses as a blogger. His strength shone brightly last summer when he helped........ Read more »
Rozin, P., Berman, L., & Royzman, E. (2010) Biases in use of positive and negative words across twenty natural languages. Cognition , 24(3), 536-548. DOI: 10.1080/02699930902793462
- May 24, 2010
- 08:03 AM
- 458 views
The Politics of Publishing
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
(image from http://alysha.gather.com/)Let's talk about class warfare in academics, shall we? I just read a nice little article on speech production from Cognition and while I enjoyed it, I couldn't help but wonder how it got published because it was rather light weight. To be fair, Cognition published it as a "Brief article" so it was meant to be short*; nonetheless, it had the feel of a grad student poster, not a publication. You might argue that this is the point of a "Brief article"........ Read more »
Spalek, K., Bock, K., & Schriefers, H. (2010) A purple giraffe is faster than a purple elephant: Inconsistent phonology affects determiner selection in English. Cognition, 114(1), 123-128. DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2009.09.011
- February 17, 2010
- 10:10 PM
- 512 views
A Constraint Based Approach To Figure Skating
by Chris in The Lousy Linguist
While perhaps not quite a pure crash blossom, this headline caught me off guard:Is Figure Skating Fixed? Honestly, my first reaction was to wonder if there was a new scoring system (yes, there is) and what was wrong with the old one (bias and collusion). In other words, what was broken and how was it improved? Of course, there's another meaning of fixed -- 'to cheat.' In other words, are figure skating outcomes rigged by cheating? Were this headline from any other pub........ Read more »
James Pustejovsky. (1998) The Semantics of Lexical Underspecification. Folia Linguistica. info:/
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